Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma - QuickStep) and Filippo Pozzato (Farnese Vini - Selle Italia) keep an eye on each other(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Sylvain Chavanel could profit from the team's tactics on Sunday(Image credit: Photopress.be)
For Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma - Quick Step), the Spring Classics season is coming to a close with Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday. The French champion leads his Belgian team in La Doyenne although his ambitions for the one-day race are modest.
Against in-form men like Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha), Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) and local hero Philippe Gilbert (BMC), the Frenchman feels like he doesn't stand a chance on the decisive climbs.
"I'll try to anticipate in the race. We'll see how the legs are on Sunday, but I realize that the peak of form is behind me," Chavanel said on Saturday. "I'm at the start and am motivated to do well but without high ambitions. I hope to have fun."
The Frenchman rode the Spring Classics season with mixed results. He captured the win in the Three Days of De Panne-Koksijde and completed the one-two in Dwars door Vlaanderen when teammate Niki Terpstra won the semi-Classic. In Paris-Nice, he once again captured a top-10 result in the general classification while the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix resulted in wins for teammate Tom Boonen. Last week, he finished on a distant 37th place in the Amstel Gold Race.
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